WATCH: Tammy Baldwin Tells John Boehner 'Just Bring ENDA Up for a Vote'

The nation's first openly gay senator has a message for the Republican speaker of the House.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

November 07 2013 4:40 PM ET

Wisconsin senator Tammy Baldwin, the first openly gay person to be elected to the U.S. Senate, offered a direct message to the man in charge of the House of Representatives — where she served from 1999 to 2013 — regarding the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.

Speaking with MSNBC Thursday afternoon just moments before casting her final vote in favor of ENDA, Baldwin delivered a straightforward plea to the Republican speaker, who has said he believes ENDA would lead to "frivolous litigation" and hurt small businesses, and also incorrectly claimed that it was already illegal to fire people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

"On the procedural side, I'd say what we said during the shutdown: Just bring it up for a vote," the senator demanded. "Because I feel that the House, if given the opportunity to vote up or down against discrimination in employment, against the LGBT community, that we'd win that vote. We'd win that day. And so that's what I'd say to Speaker Boehner: Just give it an up-or-down vote."